Wandering Boys
by c1araoswa1d
Summary: (Tumblr Prompt) 12 and Clara are on an adventure when they bump into 9 and Rose.


It was always awkward, bumping into strangers in strange places and Clara thought maybe she'd gotten used to it, travelling with the Doctor, but they were a billion years into the future, on a planet he claimed humans rarely visited, and she was looking into the very human eyes of another very human woman. A blonde, with bold eyes and a kind smile, around her age and maybe a smidge taller, but no doubt... _most definitely a human_.

Clara felt rude, but she checked twice for gills and third eyes and discoloration, and she stopped when she realized this other woman was doing the same. Looking her over as though she shouldn't be there, a thought that piqued her curiosity as she stopped and released her hold on that other woman's arms – a grip they'd both maintained to keep from falling as they'd run into each other around the bend in a marketplace just beside blue blobs and glowing pink orbs.

Food, she imagined.

"I'm sorry," Clara stated absently, eyes closing a moment as she tilted her head, "And this is going to sound entirely bonkers, but, you're absolutely human, right?"

"Was gonna ask the same of you, honestly," Rose responded, taking a breath before staring inquisitively, tongue tucked into her cheek a moment before she gestured and asked, "From London?"

Absently smiling, Clara nodded, then she frowned, brow tightening as she replied, "You as well," and she thought maybe it was just the translation matrix. "Sorry," Clara repeated, "But you haven't by chance seen a gangly older man rushing about. Wild eyes, angry eyebrows, bit of a bend to his penguin run?"

Rose laughed, shaking her head, "Nope, don't think I've seen a bloke like that about," then she clucked lightly and half turned, twisting back to narrow her eyes and ask, "You haven't by chance seen a dark brooding guy, big ears, barely-there-hair, in leather looking a bit flustered, have you?"

Sighing and smirking, Clara surmised, "I think we're looking for the same man, perhaps a regeneration or two apart." She nodded, giving the woman another once over before telling her quietly, "Doesn't happen to go by the name Doctor, does he?"

"He gets old?" Rose asked immediately before looking embarrassed, hands gesturing to explain, "I mean, I know he's old, mum keeps implying he'd make a great _dad_ , though I think that's 'cause she wants a date with him, but," she grimaced, "He gets old?"

On a long sigh, Clara admitted, "Took a bit to get used to, but he's the same idiot, I can promise you that."

Laughing, Rose pressed her hands into her waist on either side and allowed, "Well, he's our idiot, and we should really go find him before he gets himself into trouble."

"Be double trouble at this point, seein' as there's two of him roaming around."

"And he is fairly good at finding trouble all on his own," Rose sighed.

The other woman was nodding, and, Clara noticed, looking a bit concerned, as she began to walk. Clara fell into step beside her, occasionally glancing at her as they made their way through the streets, looking the merchandise over with passive interest. She could tell the other woman was doing the same, curious about the companion who came after; almost curious enough to ask – what would happen to _her_.

"You don't die or anything," Clara supplied. "He would have told me about that."

Rose eyed her and smiled, scolding lightly, "Not supposed to talk about the future, could put a bump in it. Mess it all up, he would say – well, he would argue about fixed points," she threw her hands up, feigning anger and a terrible imitation of a northern accent, " _Rose, we ought not meddle in things, it's a fixed point, we could alter the course of history_!"

" _Reversing the polarity won't get us out of this one, Clara – we need to stay on the fringes, remain unnoticed_ ," she replied, in an equally terrible attempt at a Scottish accent before she sighed and shrugged, "Of course, the Doctor who came before him might simply jump onto a stage with a microphone he's procured from heavens knows were shouting at the top of his _very_ capable lungs _Hello Marketplace Roxafixia Major_!"

"Two Doctors," Rose stated simply, interrupting before pointing and asking, "You've gotten two?"

Clara stared, forgetting this Rose didn't know what was to come for her. She took a short breath, and then told her simply, "Yes," because explaining she'd had a run in with all Doctors might spin her head a bit. Or make her jealous, Clara wasn't sure. She couldn't remember if Rose was the jealous sort, the Doctor tried his best not to mention previous companions, though Clara knew she might be a bit jealous herself if someone had more of a go with him than she did.

Her cheeks went pink at the notion.

"What's it like, the changing I mean?" Rose questioned quietly, almost worried.

Shrugging, Clara responded honestly, "Strange." She glanced up to meet the terrified eyes staring back at her as she told her, "It's like watching your best friend, _the best friend you've had forever_ , change his face and a bit of his personality, and he's standing there shouting that it's still him. Takes a bit to get used to."

"Can imagine," Rose uttered, hands finding her back pockets to cling to as they slowed and began glancing around at the shops again before Rose nodded and stated, "Knowing him, I bet he's right in the thick of it."

"And this," Clara sighed, "This isn't the thick of it."

"Too mundane," Rose agreed.

"Too boring," Clara teased.

The other woman suddenly gained a knowing grin as she looked to Clara sideways and groaned, "I bet he's getting food, some sort of weird thing he'll ask us to eat 'cause he likes seeing the looks on our faces when we don't like it."

"And he loves the look when we do," Clara countered with a smile Rose matched. Both thankful to be able to talk about the man they travelled with... with someone else who understood entirely.

They both took a whiff of the air before each nodding to their right, a soft giggle of agreement as they began to roam towards the scents of alien foods and treats and as they neared them, Clara's hands came together nervously as her eyes scanned the patrons. It was quick enough to eliminate most, they had two heads or green heads or no heads at all. And Clara searched for the head of grey curls she'd know anywhere, until she felt the soft fingers of the other woman stopping her nervous picking.

"What are you afraid of?" Rose asked her, head giving a shake as though her being afraid might be the silliest notion in the world.

Clara bowed her head slightly, then told her honestly, "I know you're thinking it: what happened to you; why's he not travelling with you anymore. And I know the answer, and I know you can't know – I know I can't tell you..."

"You're thinking on what happens when he moves onto the next one," Rose surmised, smile fading slightly as Clara nodded slightly. Rose licked her lips and she rubbed her hands together, admitting, "I'd be lying if I told you I didn't think about it every once in a while. He's a thousand year old alien," she laughed, "We can't exactly go on travelling with him forever." She glanced sideways at Clara as she teased, "One day we'll go and break a hip."

"Or die," Clara lamented with a shrug."

Laughing and giving her a playful slap on the arm, Rose shook her head and told her lowly, "Or get sucked into a parallel dimension."

Shrugging, Clara smirked, "Or steal our own Tardis and run off to the stars."

Chuckling lightly together, Clara nodded, and she looked out at the thinning crowd, seeing the Doctor... and _her_ Doctor... and she pointed them out, watching Rose's face light up, only seeing her own, Clara knew. The two were locked in some deep conversation, both seriously staring into one another, heads bowed slightly, brows knotted in contemplation. She imagined this was one of those moments. One of those wibbly wobbly moments he wouldn't be able to retain later, because it might alter something. Perhaps that was their discussion, she wondered.

Time, she knew, could do a number on your memory to maintain itself.

"Chances are," she told Rose, "In a few minutes we'll forget we've ever spoken."

"Then tell me what happens to me," Rose stated firmly, turning and giving her a fearful look. "Tell me why I stopped travelling with him."

Smiling, Clara told her, firmly, "No," and then she nodded and added, "But you have a wonderful adventure."

Pointing, Rose replied slyly, "You're not as good a liar as you think you are."

Pretending to be offended, Clara told her blankly, "I'm an excellent liar, thanks, and it's not a lie."

They nodded and shared a knowing smile – sure they would have wonderful adventures with the Doctor; and there was no way those adventures, for them, ended happily ever after in the way that they wanted. Clara watched Rose look back to her Doctor and she understood this woman was as much in love with him as Clara was with hers and the thought made her heart skip. She imagined it was easy enough, falling for the Doctor... having him fall for them, she wasn't quite as sure .

"How should we do this?" Rose questioned quietly. "Just stroll up together?"

Shaking her head, she told the other woman honestly, "Probably not the best idea, in case the Doctor remembers – it would definitely throw off my history." She gestured to her left, and then to her right, telling her, "You call from around those shops, I call from around these?"

"Sounds like a plan," Rose replied sadly. Enough that Clara stopped her and gave her a small shake of her head, one Rose smiled to before telling her honestly, "You seem to know a bit about all of this."

Bowing her head slightly, thinking of their Doctors talking twenty feet away, she replied with a grin, "You're early on in your game; you'll get there."

Brow lifting slightly, Rose repeated, "Early on," before looking back to the Doctor, and she turned back to ask Clara in spite of her understanding the other woman wouldn't answer, "So about how long do I travel with him?" But the other woman was gone.

Clara turned a corner and stood with her eyes closed, taking a heavy breath. Rose. She knew it was Rose and she thought maybe she'd be envious if she ever met her – she knew her story – but instead she felt terrible for her. There were so many things to come for her, so many good, but so many terrible things. Calling out to the Doctor, she knew the same awaited her own journey.

Perhaps there would come a day where they could compare notes on the same page, she thought, but she frowned just as the Doctor came shuffling towards her with a perplexed look on his face... memories already fading just as she knew her own would.


End file.
